Welcome to our weekly program “Path towards enlightenment” in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an.

Last week we ended our explanation of Surah Qasas and today we start the next Surah, that is, Ankabut. Here are ayahs 1 to 3:

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الم

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ

“In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.”

“Alif, Laam, Meem.”

“Do the people suppose that they will be let off because they say, ‘We have faith,’ and they will not be tested?”

“Certainly We tested those who were before them. So Allah shall surely ascertain those who are truthful, and He shall surely ascertain the liars.”

This Surah mentions the practical fragility of the webbed home of The Spider as an analogy for those who take false deities as a shelter. It takes its name from verse 41 which mentions “Ankabut” as the spider is called in Arabic. The Surah stresses that believers will be tested and that they should remain steadfast. The misconceptions of disbelievers regarding the nature of revelation and the Prophet are addressed. References are made to earlier prophets and details given of the punishments brought on those who denied them. This Surah was revealed in Mecca and contains sixty-nine ayahs. The Surah starts with the Arabic alphabets Alif, Laam, Meem. As we said a few months ago at the beginning of Surah Qasas, there are 29 Surahs in the Holy Qur’an, such as Baqarah, Aal-e Imran, A’raaf, Yunus, Hood, Ibrahim, etc, which start with “Horoof Muqatta’at” or the seemingly unarranged alphabets, whose meaning is known only to God and Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Some exegetes have tried to interpret them. Surah Anabut is one such Surah. This is among the marvels of the unmatched eloquence of the Holy Qur'an, which bewildered the infidels during the days of the Prophet of Islam. Today also, they continue to confound the disbelievers of our own days, who despite the advancement in science and technology, have failed to meet the divine challenge to bring about at least some phrases equal to those of the Holy Qur'an.

Ayahs 1 to 3 speak of the test and tribulation that the All-Wise God has decreed, even for believers, in order to test their faith, so as to separate the truly faithful from the false claimants. For instance, many consider themselves as good believers and think they are obedient to God, but when they face hardships, they give up their faith. In this case, it became clear that they are not the people that one thought. It must be so, because by claiming faith everyone can introduce himself as the best believer, the best striver, and the best advocator of a group of people. The weight, value and worth of this claim must be estimated by means of examination.

And, if these ayahs refer to the hypocrites, it is probable that they point to a group of persons with superficial belief who were among Muslims in Mecca. They were sometimes with the Muslims and sometimes with the disbelievers, and whenever either of the groups was in a better position they turned to them.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Faith cannot be proved through claims and slogans but has to be tested through trials and tribulation. A person should show in practice that he is prepared to embark on any form of self-sacrifice for safeguarding faith.

2. Divine test has been among the fixed divine laws throughout history and everyone, whether believer or not, has been tested in various manners. The rich is tested with wealth, the poor with poverty, the ruler with how they use their power, and the weak with how they behave in their state of weakness regarding faith.

Now we read ayahs 4 and 5 of Surah Ankabut:

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا ۚ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

مَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّـهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّـهِ لَآتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“Do those who commit misdeeds suppose that they can outmaneuver Us? Evil is the judgement that they make.”

“Whoever expects to encounter Allah [should know that] Allah’s [appointed] time will indeed come, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”

These ayahs are addressed both to the believers and the disbelievers. They warn the faithless not to be in a delusion of escaping divine punishment, since their disobedience of God and their persecution of the faithful are all registered in their file and they will eventually be punished on the Day of Judgement. Here in the transient life of the mortal world, the respite given to them by God must not cause them to be proud, because this is also an examination for them as well as a chance for repentance and their return. Some commentators have taken this ayah as referring to the sinful believers as well. The next ayah means to say that God’s promise is true, and the faithful should worship and obey God without giving up their faith as a result of problems. Meanwhile, it should be said that meeting with Allah on the Judgement Day is is a spiritual meeting and a kind of inner intuition, because in that place the thick curtains of the world of matter will be removed from before the eyes of the human soul and we will get into an intuition. Moreover, Allah hears all the words and is aware of all deeds

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Indulgence in sin and continuing a sinful life without repentance or reform destroys the human soul and makes such a person drift away from the mercy of God.

2. Wrongdoers should not become proud with the respite God has given tem, since all opportunities abruptly end and the Day of Resurrection will certainly come. The righteous people should not give up patience and endurance since Divine Promise is true.

Now we read ayahs 6 and 7 of Surah Ankabut:

وَمَن جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“Whoever strives, strives only for his own sake. Indeed Allah has no need of the creatures.”

“As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds, We will absolve them of their misdeeds and We will surely reward them by the best of what they used to do.”

The purpose of ‘strive’ in this ayah is not only to struggle with weapons against the enemies, but the purpose is effort and endeavour. This effort is in the way of self-improvement and striving against one’s self both, or struggling against the temptations of Satan or against the foreign enemies. The Divine trial is intended to test man’s struggle against low desire, and strive against the enemies of faith, with purity and piety, since Allah has no need which can be removed by the worship or obedience of the servants. He has no deficiency that others give it to Him, but whatever others possess is from God Alone, and we have nothing from our selves.

As the next ayah says, those who have faith and practically prove it through their good deeds, God forgives their faults and shortcomings, and will surely reward them with His unlimited favours.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. The purpose of jihad in this ayah is not only striving with weapons against the enemies, but making efforts for self-building and self-reform in order to defeat the conspiracies of the enemies in the political, economic and cultural fields. All these are forms of jihad.

2. If we have faith and do righteous deeds; God will forgive our mistakes and reward our good deeds in the best way.

FK/AS/ME